Improved Strength

As the one who effectively answered his junior brothers' and sisters' questions, Zhou Qing knew their cultivation progress like the back of his hand.

He knew that Wei Kuang had already cultivated seven inches of Spirit Pressure, followed by Nie Yunxi's five inches, then Wei Xu and Yuan Hongying's four inches, and only after that came Feng Yuan, Wang Xiaohu, Zhang Shan, and his own three inches.

If Wei Kuang had not voluntarily withdrawn, then according to the rules Elder Jin Mang had set, Zhou Qing truly would have had no way to become the Senior Apprentice.

The gap in talent was simply that difficult to erase.

Even though he had used every possible measure to increase his cultivation speed, as of yesterday, his speed was only comparable to that of a cultivator with six Spiritual Roots.

There was an unbridgeable gap between that and Wei Kuang's sixteen Spiritual Roots.

But that was already in the past.

With Spirit Stones, his situation had changed again.

When others used Low-Grade Spirit Stones, their cultivation speed could double.

Two Spirit Stones could be boiled for twenty hours, which meant they could last ten days.

Yet when he used Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, his cultivation speed could increase to six times what it had been before.

By comparison, his current cultivation speed was roughly three times that of a six-Spiritual-Root cultivator using Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

In other words, it was equivalent to that of a cultivator with eighteen Spiritual Roots.

He had surpassed Wei Kuang's talent in one stroke.

The only problem was that this cultivation speed could not last.

He raised the Spirit Stone before his eyes.

His magnetic perception clearly told him that less than half of the spiritual energy inside remained.

If he cultivated with the Stone Boiling Method, one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone could last twenty hours.

But if he used his magnetic field to forcibly plunder the spiritual energy within the Spirit Stone, he could drain it dry in at most five hours. Moreover, four-fifths of that spiritual energy was used to strengthen his body, while only one-fifth became spiritual energy circulating through his meridians.

By that calculation, his two Mid-Grade Spirit Stones would only last three days. After three days, his cultivation speed would fall back to that of someone with six Spiritual Roots.

The thought truly left him unwilling to accept it.

As long as he had Spirit Stones, he could maintain the cultivation speed of eighteen Spiritual Roots. Once the Spirit Stones ran out, he would drop back to six.

For the first time, Zhou Qing felt the importance of resources to cultivation.

He had to find a way to get more Spirit Stones.

For Outer Disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect, aside from the monthly Spirit Stone allowance, there was only one way to obtain Spirit Stones: completing missions.

Unfortunately, there were currently no missions for anyone to take.

Zhou Qing shook his head in disappointment. For now, I can only endure it.

Fortunately, even without Spirit Stones, his cultivation speed would increase as his cultivation improved.

Compared with obtaining Spirit Stones, what mattered more now was figuring out his current strength and becoming proficient with the trump cards he had already mastered.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.

Only by understanding his own strength could he know what measures to take when faced with sudden situations.

Whether he should charge forward blindly, maneuver with caution, or turn around and run, there had to be rules to follow.

His strength was roughly composed of three parts: his superpower, his body, and spiritual energy.

Of those, his spiritual energy amounted to only three inches of Spirit Pressure, and he had not cultivated any offensive spells, so it was of no use for the moment.

What he mainly needed to test was his physical strength and the intensity of his magnetic field.

He could feel that his physical strength had increased considerably, but he would only know exactly how far it had risen after testing it.

Furthermore, magnetic field ability was likely his primary source of combat power at present.

However, the combat power provided by the magnetic field required proficiency to use. For instance, he still could not aim his Supersonic Iron Pellet accurately, and he could not yet control the force of his method for shaking others' minds.

After thinking it over, Zhou Qing realized that he still had many things to do.

He did not feel pressured by the sheer number of tasks, because he knew that all this effort would bring him rewards.

Effort brought rewards.

This was humanity's most simple and unadorned wish, yet at many times, it became an ideal people could only gaze at but never reach.

That was why Zhou Qing especially cherished this situation where effort brought rewards. He decided that, as long as it did not kill him, he would strive until death.

After resting for the night, Zhou Qing got up at the first light of dawn the next day.

He came to the courtyard.

The courtyard was piled with a great deal of lumber. Zhou Qing had applied for it from the sect under the pretext of repairing the house.

There were also several enormous stone locks and millstones.

He had also applied for those from the sect in advance, having considered that he needed to test his strength.

Cultivators were not fragile mages. Their bodies would likewise be nourished by spiritual energy and gradually grow stronger.

Among Cultivators, there was no shortage of those who enjoyed tempering their bodies.

Therefore, Zhou Qing was not worried that applying for stone locks and millstones would arouse suspicion.

Zhou Qing walked before a millstone, wrapped both hands around it, and gave it a slight test. When he found that he could shake this fifteen-hundred-pound millstone, his confidence immediately surged. He knew it had not exceeded his limits.

Then, he slowly exerted all his strength. The muscles across his body began to tighten, and the millstone gradually lifted from the ground.

Once he had raised the millstone to the level of his lower abdomen, however, he found himself somewhat lacking in strength when he tried to lift it over his head.

Zhou Qing tried tipping the millstone toward his left shoulder and hoisted it onto that shoulder. After catching his breath, he suddenly exhaled, let out a low shout, and abruptly raised the millstone above his head.

The fifteen-hundred-pound boulder pressed down on him. He felt every bone in his body emitting faint creaks, while his muscles were like bowstrings drawn taut.

Yet he still stood upright and steady, not crushed beneath the giant stone.

After three or four breaths, Zhou Qing slowly lowered the millstone. As it landed with one final dull thud, Zhou Qing straightened up, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Just two months ago, he had still been a frail young man who struggled to lift even a hundred-pound object.

Now, two months later, he could already lift a fifteen-hundred-pound stone millstone.

The speed of his progress would have left fitness enthusiasts in his previous life staring dumbstruck.

Even in the cultivation world, a Qi Refining cultivator only gained a thousand pounds of strength for each level they advanced. Yet after merely two months of cultivation, he had gained fourteen or fifteen hundred pounds of strength.

This was all the effect of his unique cultivation method.

Though his absolute strength was still nothing remarkable, this rate of progress was already enough to satisfy anyone.

After testing his physical strength, Zhou Qing turned more of his attention to his magnetic field.

Over these past two months, he had also felt his magnetic field ability grow considerably stronger.

Two months ago, the limit of his magnetic field strength had been levitating thirty pounds of iron.

But now, he could easily levitate the roughly hundred-pound iron anvil in his courtyard.

That amount of weight was utterly insignificant to him, but the magnetic field's purpose had never been to levitate heavy objects and smash people with them. That usage was far too clumsy.

The magnetic field's enhancement effect on cultivation, along with its ability to create long-range acceleration channels that could push iron pellets to inconceivable speeds—those were the true uses of the Magnetic Field Superpower.

Not to mention its other minor uses, such as affecting people's minds.

Compared with the increase in absolute strength, what delighted him even more was the deepening of his control over the magnetic field.

For example, he could now divide one magnetic field into two magnetic fields of different strengths, creating a gradient. Such a gradient magnetic field was a powerful tool for accelerating iron pellets.

For another example, he could now rapidly strengthen and weaken a magnetic field at one location, or change the direction of the magnetic field.

In theory, such alternation of magnetic fields could create an electric field. As long as the electric field was strong enough and the frequency of alternation high enough, it could break through the air and create lightning.

That meant that if this ability continued to evolve, once his magnetic field grew sufficiently powerful and he could rapidly alternate it, one day he would be able to unleash lightning attacks with his bare hands.

When that time came, his strength would take a giant leap forward!